Alessia suddenly felt terrible all over, never having encountered such shamelessness.
Was Dominic really on the wrong medication today?
For some reason, her heart tightened, and her gaze fixed on Christopher's face.
She heard her eldest son, with a serious expression, say, "Mommy, what you did was wrong!"
Just as her eldest son finished speaking, another little head popped out of the car window. The younger son said in a childish voice, "Mommy, the teacher just said that we shouldn't glare at people casually."
Alessia suddenly had the urge to stuff the two children back into her belly.
She took a deep breath, deciding not to argue with the father and sons anymore, and headed straight for her car spot.
As Alessia was about to open the car door and step in, a hand blocked her way, pressing against the door.
Her path was blocked, and Alessia looked up, finally unable to bear it any longer. She spoke up, "What exactly are you trying to do?"
Dominic frowned at Alessia, not knowing why he felt so unhappy. Ever since noon, when he heard her firmly say she didn't like him in front of Grandma, to seeing her defend Riley, he couldn't calm down. The fire in his heart seemed to be burning even more fiercely.
"Alessia, who do you like? Dylan Frost, Riley Sinclair, or... Enzo Roberts?"
Alessia rolled her eyes, a hundred percent sure that Dominic was on the wrong medication today.
"Mr. Carter, what does this have to do with you? Whoever I like is none of your business, as long as it's not you. Or perhaps..."
Alessia stopped here, took two steps forward, got closer to Dominic, and looked up at his face mockingly. "Or perhaps, Mr. Carter hopes that I continue to like you?"
Hopes that I continue to like you!
Hopes that I continue to like you!
These words suddenly echoed in Alessia's mind like a haunting melody.
Dominic's chest tightened, and the confusion in his eyes, like a stagnant pool, suddenly appeared.
As the confusion faded away, the contours of his thoughts became clearer.
In Dominic's mind, he saw the silhouette of his young father leaving his mother and him and his sister behind resolutely.
The scene shifted, and he, as a child, was being led by his grandfather. Passing by his grandmother's bedroom, he saw her holding a photo in remembrance.
The smile on his grandfather's face froze instantly.
His grandfather touched his head in disappointment and sent him off to play.
He couldn't resist and ran back curiously.
He peeked through the door and saw his usually affectionate grandfather and grandmother arguing. On the photo that had fallen to the ground, there was a man's figure.
From that moment on, all his beautiful fantasies about love were shattered.
The corresponding noun for marriage was betrayal, and his ex-wife, the main culprit who destroyed his most respected grandparents' marriage.
Dominic suddenly felt irritated and pushed Alessia away, his expression filled with disgust as he spoke.
"Alessia, you're overthinking it. Let me ask you, just because you're the mother of three children, I will never allow you to casually find a stepfather for them."
Dominic's domineering tone made Alessia feel repulsed, and she retorted unpleasantly, "Then you really have no say in this."
"Alright!"
Alessia originally thought her retort would anger Dominic, but she didn't expect him to smile instead.
His voice was cold as he said, "Don't forget the agreement you signed with me. If you violate the agreement, you don't need to worry about Eleanor's fetal poison anymore. You can leave Forest Hill now."
Dominic threatened her with the children again.
Shameless!
She wanted to argue with Dominic again, but she saw him turn around and return to his car.
As she watched the car drive out of the parking spot, Alessia gritted her teeth and could only follow suit.
One car followed the other, with only a meter or so between them.
As they passed a square, the three children exchanged glances.
"Oh!" Christian suddenly covered his stomach.
"What's wrong?" Dominic turned his head and asked.
"Daddy, I need to poop," Christian said, pretending to be uncomfortable and wrinkling his little face.
"Poop?" Dominic frowned, glanced at the navigation, and saw that it was still half an hour to get home from here.
"Can you hold it?" Dominic asked.
"It's almost coming out." Christian squeezed his mouth, covering his little butt with one hand and pretending to be in urgent need.
Dominic had no choice but to pull over to the side of the road.
Alessia originally didn't want to pay attention to Dominic, but when she saw him suddenly stop the car and saw Christian getting out of the car, still holding his stomach, she couldn't bear it.
She also found a parking spot.
Over here, Dominic got out of the car and planned to take Christian to the restroom, but he didn't expect Eleanor to run over and tightly hug his thigh.
Looking up with her little face, Eleanor coquettishly said, "Daddy, I am very thirsty."
Dominic looked at Eleanor, who was holding onto his thigh, and then glanced at Christian, who was clutching his stomach. Suddenly, he felt overwhelmed and didn't know what to do first.
Just then, Christopher quietly called out, "Daddy, I'm hungry."
"Wait for a moment, I will take Christian to the restroom first." Dominic said to Eleanor and Christopher.
"Daddy, I'm really thirsty, I am turning into dried fish soon." Eleanor said pitifully without saying anything else.
"I'm hungry too." Christopher added.
"Daddy, can we go now? I'm about to burst." Christian urged.
Even though there were only three children around him, Dominic felt more tired than when he was managing projects in the company. He felt overwhelmed and didn't know where to start.
At that moment, Alessia finally got out of the car and asked, "What's going on here?"
Dominic had never felt Alessia's voice so pleasant before, like heavenly music.
Ignoring the argument they had just had, Dominic explained, "The kids are hungry and thirsty, and Christian needs to go to the bathroom."
After looking at the three children and the flustered Dominic, Alessia arranged, "You take Christopher and Eleanor to eat first, I'll take Christian to find the restroom."
Dominic obediently took Eleanor and Christopher's hands.
Alessia picked up Christian, and they went their separate ways.
Their plan succeeded. When they left, the three children secretly made an 'OK' gesture when Alessia and Dominic weren't looking.
Fifteen minutes later, Alessia returned with Christian and they all met up at a restaurant.
"Eating outside today?" Alessia looked at the well-behaved Christopher and Eleanor.
"Yes, Mommy hasn't taken us out to eat for a long time!" Eleanor sat next to Dominic and said obediently.
"That's right!" Christian ran to sit next to Christopher, feeling self-conscious.
Now there was only one empty seat in front of Dominic.
Alessia was embarrassed and was about to leave, back to the car, but Christopher saw through her intentions and said, "Mommy, you're not leaving, are you?"
Christian also looked up and said, "Mommy, are you still mad because we said you were wrong earlier?"
"Nonsense, Mommy is very generous, how could she be mad?" Eleanor admired.
Listening to the three kids' words, Alessia felt cornered, with no way out. She looked at the only empty seat and seriously suspected that the kids were playing her.
Thirsty, hungry, needing to go to the bathroom-all just excuses.
"Ladies, please take a seat. Your orders will be here shortly. By the way, today is our member's day, so you'll get a 20% discount, and there will be gifts for you." The waiter politely said.
As the waiter approached, several nearby people's gazes fell on her.
Alessia didn't want to attract too much attention or be overly dramatic, so she had no choice but to sit down under everyone's gaze.
After sitting down, she glanced at Dominic opposite her.
Alessia thought that with Dominic's previous bad attitude, he would probably mock her a bit after she sat down. However, she was surprised to see Dominic gentlemanly pouring her a glass of water.
Has this man really become schizophrenic?
While she was thinking, she heard Dominic say, "Alessia, after what just happened, I realized that it's not easy for you to raise two children all these years. You take care of them when they're thirsty, tired, or sick."
Alessia was slightly moved. She hadn't expected Dominic to be so considerate.
She took a sip of water and relaxed as Dominic spoke. She looked around the restaurant and said, "Don't overthink it, it's not that tiring. Mrs. Cate has always been helping me take care of them."
"Yeah." Dominic replied, not wanting to continue the topic, but it was clear that he had reached a conclusion about the matter in his heart. He spoke again, "The steak in this restaurant is good, you should try it later."
"Okay." Alessia nodded, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
The atmosphere between them was like that of a couple after a cold war, not fully reconciled yet still sweet.
At the dining table, the three children shared a knowing smile.
***